New Desktop/Icon Thread

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Agathon
Since you have what looks like Object Dock, St Leo, I'm surprised you haven't gone the whole hog and installed approcket, the Launchbar clone.

Well, I don't need yet another way to search Google and the folder exploration bit is useless fluff, but AppRocket seems like a good way to start things that don't fit in the dock.

alt+space, risk, enter
alt+space, tweak, enter
alt+space, scanner, enter
alt+space, sequoia, enter

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
Why the change, St Leo?

There wasn't enough contrast in the pure white fill. I tried colourizing with some success, but switching seemed simpler.

Anyways, what are you complaining about? This one has Grand Tetons-worth of spheres and hemispheres and ellipsoids and curves and whatnot. Isn't that what you are into?

[Agathon]

Well, I don't need yet another way to search Google and the folder exploration bit is useless fluff, but AppRocket seems like a good way to start things that don't fit in the dock.

Having search engine fields in the browser is a waste of space.

Someone needs to make it more like Butler rather than a straight ripoff of Launchbar. Butler is a sine qua non for me. The file finding capabilities of this app mean that I never have to do anything other than press control space and type a few letters to find anything I need (contacts, files, bookmarks, email addresses). I'll be pissed if it ever stops development.

[Solver]

Fear my desktop!

Nah, actually, don't, it's recently cleared up. Usually you'd see anywhere between 10 and 20 strange files on my desktop, zips and txts mostly, purpose of which I can not myself explain.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Having search engine fields in the browser is a waste of space.

My initial estimate is the stupid border you have around your window wastes 1000-1500% more screen space than a search field...

[Agathon]

The "customizable and transparent border", how so?

[Asher]

Not just that, but how you don't have the window maximized.

Your example is brilliant: It takes up the same vertical space as, say, my Firefox configuration, as well. But it's got a fugly huge border, then a bunch of wasted space on all of the sides since it's not even maximized.

You cannot criticize screen usage when your OS is notorious for wasting it...

I'm talking about your browser screenshot in another thread in particular, but also the Spotlight thing (which is a neat kludge of something in the Longhorn alphas, combined with the categorized view from Windows XP...another Apple innovation).

[Asher]

And I think it could use a little work:

Why does thesaurus.com come up when you search for "cather"?...

[Agathon]

Why does thesaurus.com come up when you search for "cather"?...

Duh!

Because it contains all those letters, and I haven't set it to restrict itself to those letters in that particular order (it's quicker on my older machine).

Your example is brilliant: It takes up the same vertical space as, say, my Firefox configuration, as well. But it's got a fugly huge border, then a bunch of wasted space on all of the sides since it's not even maximized.

Maximizing windows is stupid, and getting stupider every day. Given that screens are getting wider, it's even dumber. If you have maximized windows, it is harder to drag and drop between them, and I often have several windows from several apps open at once, where I want to see them.

Besides, documents tend to be taller than they are wider, and screens just the opposite.

I'm talking about your browser screenshot in another thread in particular, but also the Spotlight thing (which is a neat kludge of something in the Longhorn alphas, combined with the categorized view from Windows XP...another Apple innovation

The spotlight thing just takes advantage of metadata search features that are already present in the Finder and have been so since 10.0. I agree that presenting it as something new is ridiculous, since it's just a new GUI for what is mostly an old feature.

And I fail to see how anything in that screenie takes up more space than yours. The search field disappears when you've done the search, and can be summoned by a keypress when you want it.

Go clutch at some other straws.

[Agathon]

The spotlight thing just takes advantage of metadata search features that are already present in the Finder

See

[Agathon]

And I fail to see how Launchbar like apps have anything to do with Longhorn, since LB was originally a NeXTSTEP app.

Try again.

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Agathon
Having search engine fields in the browser is a waste of space.

Which is why I search Google by typing
g whatever whatever whatever
in Opera's addressbar.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Duh!

Because it contains all those letters, and I haven't set it to restrict itself to those letters in that particular order (it's quicker on my older machine).

Oh, I must be stupid. That possibility never occured to me, seeing as "c" doesn't appear in "thesaurus" 'round here...

[/quote]Maximizing windows is stupid, and getting stupider every day. Given that screens are getting wider, it's even dumber. If you have maximized windows, it is harder to drag and drop between them, and I often have several windows from several apps open at once, where I want to see them.[/quote]
In the occasions where you have several apps at once, you cascade. When you want to drag and drop while maximized, you can drag to the taskbar icon. It ain't hard.

Besides, documents tend to be taller than they are wider, and screens just the opposite.

Which is why you put tools on the left or right hand side of the screen (ie, the task pane in Office).

The spotlight thing just takes advantage of metadata search features that are already present in the Finder and have been so since 10.0. I agree that presenting it as something new is ridiculous, since it's just a new GUI for what is mostly an old feature.

Metadata searches have been part of PC operating systems since well before 10.0 too.

And I fail to see how anything in that screenie takes up more space than yours. The search field disappears when you've done the search, and can be summoned by a keypress when you want it.

Because nothing at all can occur in the wasted border? Duh?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
See

Another classic example of an ambiguous interface from Apple.

"Search in everywhere" makes no sense.

What do the + and - do? Add or remove additional search constraints?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
And I fail to see how Launchbar like apps have anything to do with Longhorn, since LB was originally a NeXTSTEP app.

Try again.

Who said anything about Launchbar and Longhorn?

All I'm saying is the idea of massive metadata is something computers are going to.

Spotlight is a half-assed attempt to steal Microsoft's thunder, but it's all marketing BS -- as you've said. It's nothing new.

What's in Longhorn is an SQL-based "filesystem". Directory structures will be secondary and for users who want to use the old system, other than that it'll be based off of SQL views.

Not only will searches be trivial and extremely powerful, but it'll make more logical sense too.

The problem is, this is extremely complex to do -- and Apple has never been good at that kind of stuff. They'll clone it at some point in 5-6 years...